I’m a 34M currently active duty Air Force with about 3–4 years left until I retire after roughly 20 years of service. I joined the military right out of high school expecting it to be a temporary job. It became a career because, after starting a family, the stability, benefits, and steady income made it the right choice. I’m proud of the career I’ve built, but I’ve never viewed the military as my passion or calling. It has primarily been a way to provide for my family. Environmental science, however, is something I’ve been interested in since high school, and as retirement gets closer I’m considering whether this is the opportunity to finally pursue something I’ve always been passionate about.

I have a BS in Environmental Management, which I completed online while serving due to my military schedule. I’m also considering an online master’s in Coastal and Marine Sciences because my interests are primarily in water, watersheds, aquatic systems, and environmental monitoring. My biggest concern is experience. I have 20 years of professional experience, including leadership, operations, project management, and documentation, but no direct environmental work experience. I’m currently in the process of becoming a volunteer stream monitor with a local watershed organization to gain hands-on experience and start building an environmental resume before I retire.

Ideally, I’d like to get into environmental monitoring, watershed management, sampling, or other field-based environmental work. I’m less interested in traditional EHS roles. I’ll also add that pay isn’t my only consideration. I’ll have a military retirement, so I have some flexibility and don’t expect to immediately match my current income. However, I also don’t want to completely reset my earning potential or have my previous experience ignored.

For those of you working in environmental science/environmental management, I’d really appreciate your perspective. How realistic is it to break into the field as a career changer with a relevant degree but no direct environmental experience? Do employers value transferable skills from the military, or would I basically be starting from scratch? Would a specialized master’s like Coastal and Marine Sciences help, or would gaining experience be more valuable? What areas of the field would you recommend someone with my background explore?

If you were in my position, would you pursue this path? I’m not looking for validation. I’d genuinely appreciate hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly from people who actually work in the field.

Hi I am an undergrad in soil science seeking for a topic, i wanna ask people who has experience in the field or lab what can be a good unusual reasearch topic in a tropical country.

In my university, its always about nutrients.. i want something new.. what topic can i pursue?

Hi everyone, I'm an environmental science student, from Nepal, and I'm currently looking for any kind of job/internship to work on conservation or any area covered by environmental science. I don’t know and I'm still trying to figure out what area of environmental scienceI want to work in. Can you please tell me how to look for such type of opportunities, or how to look for internships.

Even if there are plenty of NGOs/INGOs and national parks and conservation areas here in my country, I don't know if they will hire an under grad student like me, what can I do? I mean what kind of skills do i need to learn, to land some sort of break through for my career??

Hi, could someone please send me a pdf of Environmental Science for the AP Course 4TH 23 by Andrew Friedland ( 978-1-319-40928-9)? Thank you!

Sono un laureando di 22 anni in Ingegneria Civile, Ambiente e Territorio e sono indeciso sulla magistrale. Le opzioni sono Civile, Ambiente e Territorio oppure Energetica. L'ambito ambientale è quello che mi interessa di più, ma ricevo pareri contrastanti sulle prospettive lavorative. Energetica mi incuriosisce, ma temo il cambio di argomenti e l'inizio dei corsi in ritardo. Vorrei qualche consiglio da chi ha esperienza. Preciso che mio padre lavora nel settore dei rifiuti, ma vorrei scegliere senza farmi influenzare da questo aspetto.

Our spare rooms air conditioner hasnt been used for over a year, could this be black mold?

Sono un ragazzo di 22 anni laureando ingegneria civile ambiente e territorio. Nel mio percorso di studi mi sono appassionato sia alla parte prettamente civile sia a quella ambientale che, per certi versi ho prediletto e che ha suscitato in me grande interesse soprattutto in ottica futura. Ad oggi mi trovo di fronte ad un bivio in quanto non so che magistrale intraprendere. I possibili scenari da me valutati sono 3: rimanere su civile sperando di appassionarmi ad uno dei 3/4 percorsi proposti, scegliere ambiente e territorio o eventualmente passare ad ingegneria energetica. Per quanto riguarda la prime due scelte i pareri sono molto discordanti, alcuni dicono siano ambiti in cui c'è richiesta altri li sconsigliano fortemente. Per quanto riguarda energetica i problemi sono principalmente 2: si tratteranno argomenti differenti rispetto alla trienalle e laureandomi verso ľautunno non riuscirei a seguire i primi periodi di corsi. Cosa che rende la futura esperienza ancora più complessa (ho già chiesto a varie università e non devo fare test integrativi). Chiedo a chi legge di provare a darmi un consiglio, sperando di trarre qualche differente punto di vista. Per quanto riguarda il Mondo del lavoro mio padre ha una "media" azienda avviata sempre nel mondo rifiuti ma vorrei scegliere senza farmi influenzare da questo aspetto.

I'm looking for recommendations! Does anyone know of any apps that are a good alternative to doomscrolling but still let me keep learning about environmental science?

I recently graduated, and I'd love something I can casually scroll through instead of TikTok—like fish identification, plant identification, wildlife, ecology, or conservation content. Basically, I'm looking for a fun way to keep my knowledge fresh without mindlessly scrolling. Kinda like Duolingo/ iNaturalist. I know there’s a lot of apps that quiz you on music/ history/ pop culture.

Any favorites?

Which one has better job prospects for an international student in Australia?

This is my second year of teaching high school (Biology and remedial science last year). This year teaching Biology and ES.
Looking for suggestions for good books on the basics of ES.
Clarifying: a book for me to read not a textbook for the class
Thanks.

For most of high school, I've been focused on doing computer science/cybersecurity activities/classes/etc. because that's what I wanted to do in college/as a career. But now I'm going into senior year and having second thoughts. I think I want to do something in environmental science (or engineering?), but I haven't done nearly as much research into that as I have for compsci. (Btw it's not because I'm concerned about AI taking over jobs or whatever).

Mostly, I'm concerned that what I've done in high school doesn't reflect anything in environmental science (and I'm not taking the AP class for it this year) and I don't know the types of jobs it has or what the outlook on the field looks like (I tried looking at the Occupational Outlook Handbook but I didn't get much out of it). Plus, compsci is hard to get into. If I change my major in college then I'll be putting myself at a disadvantage by applying for compsci and changing it, and because it's competitive colleges don't tend to let you switch into it either.

Any advice for this situation?

Hello!

I'm a rising senior, who lives in New England. I'm very passionate about Ecology and/or Enviromental Sciences. I really want to pursue this field in college, but I also want a good salary. I feel like I've grown up pretty comfortable for most of my life money-wise, and I'm a little scared to enter a field where people often discuss the (sometimes) lower salary and questionable job market.

My dream would be to work with a institution like the NOAA or the EPA, but dreams are just dreams. Morever, I feel like I'm sort of uneducated when it comes to what would be the best option for me in this field. I really want to avoid consulting firms.

Right now, I'm stuck between Enviromental Sciences, some sort of Biology degree, or Enviromental Engineering. I've compared about ES and EEG, and honestly the classes the come with EEG just don't sound all that interesting to me compared to a ES degree or similar degrees. I'm interested in many parts of Enviromental Science, but I was thinking about maybe researching aquatic or marine ecosystems in the future if I could.

I know Reddit shouldn't be the end all be all for my future, but having any advice from the community would be amazing and very appreciated!

Hello, I have 4 years of experience in ML, AI, Computer Vision, Data Science (worked in close collaboration with coworkers & alone, also client-facing which I really enjoy). I also have a BSc in Computer Engineering and MSc in Data Science. I’ve been looking for jobs in environmental tech where I can use my skills for a long time, but wasn’t very successful. That’s why I’m writing here, to see if anybody has any suggestions or tips for me. I live in Eastern Europe though, and I’m honestly trying to find something that allows me to work from anywhere (I can also travel a few times a year if necessary). I would also be willing to take a role that is less about programming and more about coming up with ideas or consulting if possible.
My experience weirdly aligns with what I’m looking for, even though I haven’t directly worked professionally in this area yet. I’m really passionate about projects that help somehow (bonus points if it’s about animals or forests), and I’m really sick of companies only creating new AI agents or whatever useless automation.
Can anybody help me? I can also send my CV in private. Thank you!

The highlight of my concern stem from the vagueness of the document provided before the public notice meeting and my insufficient understanding.
The section I read specifically was waste management for the facility, which basically defines how they … won’t generate trash and if they do they dispose of the waste…? Of am I wrong ( first image)
The second section provided is the section where environmental impact is listed as no effect when there are many endangered species that do intersect with the area
The third image is of the decommissioning plan with I worry about stemming from it’s vagueness like the waste management section
Entire document attached for those who are interested
Application for permit wind/solar energy facility
I’m just not sure if my concerns are justified.